i understood your question. the cost will depend on your prescription coverage. for instance, i get mine for 10 dollars each. talk to your doc. mine had no problem giving them to me since i keep bees. however, bee-bop, who does tend to be reactive sometimes, has a point. you would want to be very careful about using them on others or giving them to others. it is also important to know how and when to use them. there is a sticky on the forum that gives good info.

My doc prescribed one to my when I requested. But when I went to get it filled, they cost $80 without insurance. So... oh well.

only a very small percentage of people are truly allergic to bee stings. a larger number of us have reactions that are larger than normal. most have localized reactions that pose no threat. for the allergic, epi pens (and a new hobby) are a must. for those of us who have more extreme reactions, epi pens are worth having, never knowing if our reactions will get worse with time. for others, it's probably an unnecessary expense.

for those of us who like to brush hog yellowjacket nests, they are worth having :-D

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.....The greatest changes occur in their country without their cooperation. They are not even aware of precisely what has taken place. They suspect it; they have heard of the event by chance. More than that, they are unconcerned with the fortunes of their village, the safety of their streets, the fate of their church and its vestry. They think that such things have nothing to do with them, that they belong to a powerful stranger called the government. They enjoy these goods as tenants, without a sense of ownership, and never give a thought to how they might be improved.....

Kathy, you're crackin' me up about that YJ hell you just went through...good to see you have a sense of humor about it!

I kept bees with my father as a teenager until he developed allergies to the stings and had to abandon bees. He still comes out to my bee yard on occasion so he leaves me his out-of-date epipens in my frige just incase.

Scott

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"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

I'm sure if I have a person visiting one of my yards going into anaplylactic (sp) shock, that I would take little time weighing the possible ramifications of being sued over the automatic response of saving another persons life. I can't see holding the person's hand while in my other hand was the epi-pen that could of saved that person's life. What a story to tell the widow..."Yes, it is true, I had an epi-pen, but didn't want the risk of a lawsuit. The prescription only included saving MY life....not your husbands....Sorry!"

With this group, you will never read in a headline "Beekeeper saved women's life after vicious attack of killer bees" ..... (*story reads)women would of died without the fast reactions of a professional beekeeper who came to her rescue...

I actually think that having a "visitor" to your bee yard or the neighbors daughter dying after a sting, may very well get you sued anyways.

I've heard about people getting sued after acting as a good Samaritan, and then suggesting that they would do it again if needed, IF it saved another persons life. Makes you wonder what priorities these people have.

For those who have a problem even remotely thinking that using your epi-pen to save another persons life would be out of the question.....then get your land owners where you have bees to have a bottle of benedryl (sp) on hand, or keep a bottle in the truck. Downing a bottle will not save a persons life, but will buy that extra 20-30 minutes to get to the hospital.

I bush hog yellow jacket nests, too. For your information, yellow jackets and wasps and have a separate type of venom than do honey bees and bumble bees. Being allergic to one has no relationship to being allergic to the other. I know because about 15 years ago I almost died from yellow jacket stings while biking in the mountains. Doctors explained the difference of the two groups of stinging insects. I kept epipens and used one one time. I went through months of desensitization shots until my body built up immunity. I get stung about once a year by yellow jackets or wasps now with no reactions and of course, I get stung lots by my honey bees with no reactions. But, I can relate to Kathyp's statement about how terrible it is being stung by a group of yellow jackets while bushhogging. The tractor can't outrun them and you can't jump off the tractor because you may be killed by the bushog. It takes a few minutes to get the bushhog and tractor stopped so that you can get off and run and yellow jackets can keep stinging over and over again. No fun at all.

I have a few friends that are first responders. They cant administer shots so what they do is care the pen in there rig and if needed drop it on the ground near the victim, then say hey there's a epi pen!! What luck!! That shot would probably save your life. With my insurance a 2 pack costs 5.00. I carry one in my truck and keep one at home. I dont need them but i want to be ready. I cant wait for my brother inlaw to come over and chow down on shrimp and crab again!!! In about 10 minutes he starts looking chinese. The directions did say that these pens are for adults and they had a smaller size for children